Borderlands 2 ships 5 million

Gearbox's new shooter helps Take-Two post $10.2 million profit on $273 million in revenue for latest financial period; digital sales up 108 percent.

Borderlands 2 was a big hit. 2K Games parent company Take-Two Interactive reported earnings today for the three months ended September 30, revealing Gearbox Software's new shooter has shipped 5 million copies since launch in September.

Take-Two called the launch one of the "most successful releases" in 2K history and noted that in addition to healthy sales at retail, the game has also enjoyed "strong" digital sales. It was not announced how many copies of Borderlands 2 were actually sold to consumers.

Borderlands 2 was not the only significant contributor to Take-Two's bottom line for the three-month period. According to the publisher, catalog sales of Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption also were key contributors.

Also a bright spot on Take-Two's sales sheet was digital content. The publisher said revenue from digitally delivered content surged 108 percent year-over-year, driven by offerings from the Borderlands, Grand Theft Auto, and Civilization franchises, as well as Max Payne 3.

In all, Take-Two posted net revenue of $273.1 million for the period, up 155 percent from the $107 million the company hauled a year ago prior. Profits hit $10.2 million, as compared to a loss of $39.4 million from a year ago.

Take-Two also reiterated yesterday's news that Grand Theft Auto V is on schedule for an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launch during spring 2013. Company chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said he expects this title to contribute "substantial revenue and earnings growth" in the next fiscal year.

Take-Two will hold a call this afternoon, during which Zelnick and other company executives will talk in greater detail about earnings. Check back later for news from the presentation.

5 Million is pretty damn good. In my opinion it should be higher. I don't like FPS or even FP view, but this game quickly became one of my favorite games this gen. It is pure carnage and fun, and not mindless at that. The heavy RPG elements were definitely a seller for me, but I think I still would have liked it if it didn't have any. I also love seeing the HP numbers flying off the enemies as every bullet hits them, so satisfying. There are so many other things to love about the game too. Just too awesome to sum up here.

Games shipped doesn't mean the same things as games sold does it? I keep seeing games that ship big numbers, but I never really see how many units were actually sold, so I was never really clear on whether a game being shipped meant that it was a sell or not.

@ChunkyDrawers Enemies respawn, takes a while so you can romp around an area fairly easily for a while... what really bugged me was that doors/links between areas were always at the back of a bandit camp so as soon as you'd entered an area you'd be in the midst of a huge firefight... I know you can fast travel but that takes some of the joy away for me.

@ragnar320 I don't like Halo, but I am getting some respect for it after everything I am reading about Halo 4 now that the different perspectives are coming out. Also, Borderlands 2 is totally my GOTY, but I agree with mrsniper83.

@brkdwnxx Well, I don't really change my mind on that. You like the game as it is? I'm happy for you. For me it is a huge let down. Not broken, but a big delusion. I'll pass to other games, and I'm not going to trust developers promises anymore. Enjoy!

@Thumbler76@WolfGrey Eh, no sense in arguing with nitpicky diva boys. They thrive off that shit. they find one itsy bitsy tiny little thing they don't like/notice and say HEY LOOK GUISE! next thing you know 50 other simple minded fools all fall in line like a fucking hive mind and then you end up with bullshit like that about how there's "not enough gore ZOMG game broken!"

On the topic of the game being dumbed down for 5 year old eyes/ears? not even close, for one, this game is RIFE with sexual enuendos.